THE BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER SYSTEM

THE GANGA BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER SYSTEM

The Brahmaputra river is one of the major rivers of Asia is a trans-boundary river. The Brahmaputra river is about 2900 km long originate from western Tibet as as the Yarlung Tsangpo River. This river flows through three countries – born in Tibet, flowing through India and then on to Bangladesh. It has many names - Tsangpo in Tibet, Lohit or Brahmaputra in India and Jamuna (not Yamuna of India) in Bangladesh. The waters of the River Brahmaputra are shared by China, India, and Bangladesh.

Brahmaputra River – The Son Of Brahma A Hindu God

While most Indian and Bangladeshi rivers bear female names, this river has a rare male name, as it means "son of Brahma" in Sanskrit. The Brahmaputra is navigable for most of its length. The river is prone to catastrophic flooding in spring when the Himalayan snows melt. It is also one of the few rivers in the world that exhibit a tidal bore. In Bangladesh the river merges with the Ganga and splits into two the Hugli and Padma River. When Brahmaputra river merges with the Ganges and Meghna rivers it form the largest river delta in the world (60,000km2).

The Yarlung Tsangpo River (name of Brahmaputra river in Tibet), originates in the "Jima Yangzong" glacier near Mount Kailash in the northern Himalayas. It then flows east for about 1,700 kilometres (1,100 mi), at an average height of 4,000 metres (13,000 ft), the highest of the major rivers in the world. In Tibet, the Tsangpo follows the suture line between the Eurasian Plate and the Indian Plate . At its easternmost point, it bends around Mount Namcha Barwa and forms the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon.

The Brahmaputra enters India in the state of Arunachal Pradesh from Tibet, where it is called "Siang". After a rapid descent from its original height in Tibet it finally appears in the plains, where it is called "Dihang". It flows for about 35 kilometres and is joined by the Dibang River and the Lohit River at the head of the Assam Valley. Below the Lohit the river is called Brahmaputra, enters the state of Assam and becomes as wide as 10 kilometres in parts of Assam. It is joined in Sonitpur by the Kameng River (or Jia Bhoreli). Between Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur districts the river divides into two channels—the northern "Kherkutia" channel and the southern Brahmaputra channel. The two channels join again about 100 kilometres (62 mi) downstream forming the Majuli island, the largest river island in India. At Guwahati , near the ancient pilgrimage center of Hajo, the Brahmaputra river cuts through the rocks of the Shillong Plateau becomes narrowest at 1 kilometre.

The Brahmaputra river enters Bangladesh from Assam.In Bangladesh, the Brahmaputra is joined by the Teesta River (or tista river), one of its largest tributaries. Below the Teesta, the Brahmaputra splits into two distributaries branches. The western larger branch continues due south as the Jamuna to merge with the lower Ganges, called the Padma River The eastern smaller branch is called the lower or old Brahmaputra join the Meghna River near Dhaka . The Padma and Meghna converge near Chandpur and flow out into the Bay of Bengal.

The Brahmaputra river upper course was long unknown, and its identity with the Yarlung Tsangpo was only established by exploration in 1884-86. This river is often called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra river. The lower reaches in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam are sacred to Hindus Until 1947, the Brahmaputra was used as a major waterway in India. In the 1990s, the stretch between Sadiya and Dhubri was declared as National Waterway No.2., and it provides facilities for goods transportation. Recently years have seen a modest spurt in the growth of river cruises.

There are many mythological stories on Brahmaputra river. The most popular one is about the river's birth in 'Kālikā Purāna'. It describes how Lord Parashurama , one of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu, got rid of his sin of beheading his own mother with an axe by taking bath in this sacred river. This place is presently known as Parashurām Kunda (about 25 km north of Tezu in Lomita district in`Arunāchal Pradesh).

In an another mythological story, Amogha wife of Sage Shantanu had a child by Brahma the creator of the Universe. The child took the form of water. Shantanu placed the child right in the middle of the four great mountains – Kailash, Gandhamadana, Jarudhi and Sambwartakka. He grew into a great lake, the Brahmakunda.

The environment of the Brahmaputra floodplains in Assam have been described as the Brahmaputra Valley semi- evergreen forests ecoregion. Kaziranga National Park is approximately 720 miles northeast of Kolkata in the Indian state of Assam. It lies in the flood plain of the Brahmaputra River across the central valley of Assam. The spring snow melt and summer monsoon bring yearly floods to Kaziranga that enrich its grasslands and tropical forests, enabling the park to support healthy populations of Bengal tigers, elephants, various deer, wild water buffalo, boar, monkeys, reptiles and birds (both migratory and local). The park's most famous resident is the Great Indian one-horned rhinoceros, which is every bit as big and burly as its African cousins.

The Indian rhino has been hunted extensively for its horn, which is still prized in the Chinese and Vietnamese medicinal trade. Early in the 20th century, fewer than 200 Indian rhinos survived in northeast India and lowland Nepal. Today, through habitat preservation and protection from hunting, that population has risen to more than 2,800. Seventy percent of these animals are in Kaziranga.

Tsangpo River in Tibet

Space Imaging's IKONOS satellite took this 1-meter color image of Rainbow Falls and Hidden Falls along the Tsangpo River May 9, 2000.

Hell or High Water : Surviving Tibet's Tsangpo River.

Source of Brahmaputra River--- Ansi Glacier in northern slope of Himalaya Range

The Yarlung -Tsangpo is the River in Tibet

Tibet Yarlung Tsangpo River, Tibet attractions

The hanging bridge on the Siang, as the Brahmaputra is ...

Namcha Barwa

Namcha Barwa

The Gorge of the Tsangpo River at Namcha Barva. Where the river enters India with a ‘U’ turn

U turn at Namcha Barva

The placid Siang or the Dihang, as the Brahmaputra is called in Arunachal Pradesh, flows quietly under an old-style swing bridge just before Tuting.

Wild Arunachal Dihang Dibang Biosphere Reserve

The 1,800 mile- (2,900 kilometer-) long Brahmaputra is one of the major rivers of Asia. From its origin in southwestern Tibet as the Yarlung Zangbo River, it flows across southern Tibet to break through the Himalayas in great gorges and into Arunachal Pradesh where it is known as the Dihang.It then flows southwest through the Assam Valley as Brahmaputra and south through Bangladesh as the Jamuna. There it merges with the Ganges to form a vast delta.Here, the Bramhaputra River can be seen flowing through the Indian state of Assam, northeast of Bangladesh. Assam is divided into two broad categories based on the river’s flow, namely Upper Assam and Lower Assam. Upper Assam is located to the east and characterized by highlands, while Lower Assam is located to the west.

Braided stream in Assam

The Brahmaputra's Braided streams in Assam are used for agriculture and settlements

River Kulsi is one of the tributaries of Brahmaputra where this wonderful photograph was shot

In this photo taken Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011, a crowd gather on a road washed out by floodwaters at Dhemaji district, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. The sudden swelling of four tributaries of Brahmaputra River in Dhemaji has inundated about 80 percent areas in the district, as reported on Tuesday, and floodwaters submerged hundreds of villages in the district leaving thousands of families homeless. (AP Photo)

The Brahmaputra is known for its notorious nature of flooding

Serene flows the Noa Dihing river inside Namdapha Game Sanctuary, a tributary of the mighty Brahmaputra

This is river Teesta, a tributary of Brahmaputra. Mostly it is very calm and slopes gently down across Sikkim. It originates at Cho Lhamu Lake in North Sikkim and hits the plains near Sevoke in Bengal, where the Coronation Bridge has been constructed by the British. It is one of the most scenic rivers of that part of India.

Mayudia Source of Dibang river one of major tributary of Brahmaputra

The Manas River is a major tributary of the Brahmaputra River

The banks of the Lohit River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra . The Lohit River and the Dalai River meet at this point

The Dibang River flows through the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.

Affected by floods with Brahmaputra and its tributaries survivors starting to recede today ..

Flood situation

Indian army soldiers rescue flood affected villagers in Phateki, 270 kilometers (169 miles) east of Gauhati on Monday. Nearly half a million people took refuge in relief camps set up in government buildings after the devastating floods killed 95 people and left 14 missing in northeastern Assam state.

Flood-affected people walk through a damaged road at Marigaon district in the northeastern Indian state of Assam on Tuesday. At least 77 people have been killed and nearly two million affected by heavy monsoon rains that caused floods in Assam, in what the prime minister on Monday called one of the worst such disasters to strike recently. The mighty Brahmaputra River and many of its tributaries have breach

Nurses get on to an army boat for the remote flood affected areas in the worst flood affected Sonitpur district of Assam state about 270 km from Guwahati city, India, on Tuesday. Over 80 people have died as a result of the floods in Assam.

Four rivers flowing from Kailash then flow to the four quarters of the world and divide the world into four regions. In fact the Indus, Brahmaputra, Sutlej (a major Indus tributary) and the Karnali (a major Ganges tributary) all rise near the mountain, making it the hydrographic nexus of South Asia. The Ganges River also formed in this mountain.

The tributaries and rain which gives the volume to this might river. I don't think we need to explain Brahmaputra here. North East receives heaviest rainfall in India.

Majuli:India's largest river island

It is considered the largest freshwater river-island in the world

Mishing tribal village house, Majuli Island, largest freshwater riverine .

Brahmaputra River (Bangladesh)

The smallest amount of bhut jolokia can flavour a sauce so intensely it’s barely edible. Taking a small bite will cause watering eyes and a runny nose. Frontal Agritech in Assam, India had their locally grown Bhut Jolokia chilies HPLC-tested and reported a value of 1,041,427 Scoville Heat Units, giving two independent results for Bhut Jolokia with no significant variation between them. (Capsicum chinense Jacq)

£3.50 for 10 seeds